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4 Sheets-Sheet 1,.

(No Model.)

J. M. DODGE.

GONVBYBR.

Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

Witnesses:

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. M. DODGE. GONVBYBR.

No. 565,334. PatentedvAug. 4, 1896.

(No Modem 4 sheets-sheet 4. J. M. DODGE.

YGONVEYBR. I No. 565,334. Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

frz-memes,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE LINK-BELT ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,334, dated August 4, 1896.

Application filed June 23, 1896. Serial No. 596,616. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. DODGE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain 5 Improvements in Oonveyers, of which the following is a specification. v

The object of my invention is to adapt endless-chain conveyers of that class in which the buckets are rigidly secured to the chain 1o to the carriage and elevation of materials in runs similar to those for which pivoted bucket conveyers have heretofore been commonly used, and I attain this object by forming and arranging the buckets substantially as here- 15 inafter described, so that they may receive the material to be conveyed upon the lower horizontal run of the chain to which they are attached, and may, without discharging their contents, be inverted, so as to traverse an upzo per horizontal run, and may yet be caused to effect that discharge .at any predetermined point upon the said upper run, or may receive material on an upper run and convey it to a discharge-point on a lower run, as described 2 5 hereinafter. p

Heretofore, so far as'I am aware, it has not been practicable to effect the work which my invention is mainly designed to accomplish, using conveyers of the fixed-bucket type, eX-

go cept by using separate conveyers for dierent parts of the run and transferring the material from one such conveyer to another, or, where it has been sought to accomplish the result by the use of one such conveyer, by twisting the 3 5 conveyer-chain in the ascending portion of the run, so as to prevent inversion of the buckets during the upper run.

By means of my present invention I am enabled to accomplish the result aimed at by 4o the use of one conveyer of the fixed-bucket type and without twisting the conveyer-chain in any part of its journey or employing any means to prevent reversal of the buckets.

My invention further relates to sundry im- 45 provements in details of construction hereinafter particularly described, whereby a conveyer of the fixed-bucket type having the capacity hereinabove set forth may be made capable also of continuous operation and of 5o being continuously fed without the employment of the customary valves and trips.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a diagram illustrating a conveyer made in accordance with my invention, showing the buckets charged and carrying the loads from 5 5 the charging-point on the lower run to the discharging-point on the upper run. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one of the buckets detached. Fig. 3 is a plan View of a series of the buckets coupled together. Fig. 4 is a sec- 6o tional view on the line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective View showing two of the buckets coupled together. Figs. 6 and 7 are views of modifications of the bucket. Eig. 8 is a diagram illustrating one form of conveying ap- 65 paratus on which my improvement may be used. In this instance thebuckets are charged on the upper run and carry material to a discharge-point on the lower run.

Referring in the first instance to Figs. l to 7o 7, inclusive, each bucket consists of what for convenience of description I will call a bottom carrying-section a and an upper carrying-section a', connected in the particular form of bucket shown in Fig. 2 by end sec- 75 tion a2 and side plates a4. The bottom section a of the bucket is that on which the material to be conveyed is receivedand carried upon the lower run, Fig. l, the upper section a becoming the bottom or carrying sec- 8o tion when, upon the upper run, the buckets are inverted, this section a' being, as clearly shown in Fig. l, of such length and shape that the buckets can be so reversed without discharging the material being conveyed. 8 5

The links B of the conveyer-chain are attached to the side plates of the buckets, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and are coupled together by pivot-rods O, which in the present instance extend entirely across the struc- 9o ture, between the buckets, and carry at their outer ends wheels c c, adapted to the guiderails of the conveyer system.

A portion asof the bottom section a of each bucket extends forward, so as to overlap one 9 5 of the pivot-rods O, and this forward projection of each-bucket is overlapped by a rearward projection al of the upper'plate a of the bucket immediately in advance. By this construction leakage of material fe'd to the io buckets is prevented, and the apparatus bey comes capable of being continuously operated and continuously fed, and the valves and trips necessary to accomplish this result in the ordinary pivoted bucket conveyer are dispensed with.

The side plates CL4 of the bucket extend some dist-ance above the opening z' thereof and f.orm,with the inclined portion a5 of the section a ot' the bucket and the upper and forward end of the port-ion dthereoi", ahopper I. (See Fig. 4.) p

The part a of the upper section a' of each bucket is inclined in a direction opposite to the inclination of the part a5 of said section and acts as a portion of the hopper of the next succeeding bucket, directing into the latter such portions of the continuously-fed material as, in the continuous travel of the apparatus, fall upon the said part c6. The upper and lower carrying sections are substantially V-shaped, so as to carry the load.

Fig. G illustrates a modied form of bucket in which the upper, bottom, and end sections are formed upon a curved line, a form which may be preferable in some instances, as allowing the necessary shifting of the material from one position to another within the bucket, in its travel, to occur more easily and with less wear and tear upon bucket or material.

Fig. 7 illustrates a bucket in which the end section d2 of the particular form of Fig. 2 is dispensed with.

The buckets may be made of sheet metal and the plates composing the same connected by means of angle-plates, as shown in Fig. 5. It will also be noted that in the form of bucket shown in" said ligure, and also in Fig. 3, the side plates a4 of one bucket overlap the side plates of the next adjoining bucket for the prevention of leakage from the hopper portion of the buckets.

In the diagram Fig. l I have shown a System in which the buckets travel continuously along a track D of the lower run, in the direction indicated by the arrow, receive material continuously from a chute d, and are guided by rails d to a sprocket-wheel D', driven in the direction of the arrow, from which wheel the buckets are received and guided by the rails cl2 of the upper run.

It will be seen that as each bucket is thus carried and elevated it is gradually turned and the material therein gradually shifted, until on the upper run the bucket is completely inverted and the load shifted from the bottom section a to the upper section a', which is of a length and shape to receive and retain the load when the bucket is in this position.

To discharge the load, the conveyer is guided by rails d2 over wheels D3, and as each bucket commences to descend and be turned beyond the point of complete inversion, after passing over these wheels, the material therein is at once discharged into any suitable receptacle. The conveyer and buckets are then guided by rails cl3 downward onto the rail D2 again, and from this rail pass around guide-wheels D4 and around rails dL onto the rails D of the lower run.

The wheels DS are, in the present instance, carried by a truck E, which also carries the two sets of rails d2 d3, and this truck travels on the rails D2, so that by merely shifting the position of the truck the buckets can be caused to discharge at any desired point ou the upper run.

IVhen it is required to construct the apparatus to carry material from the upper run to a point on the lower run, I reverse the position of the buckets, as shown in Fig. 8, so that the mouths of the buckets will be uppermost on the upper run, and the buckets can be charged with material on said upper run and will carry the material down to and along the lower run w ithout discharging until turned beyond the point of complete inversion, either by the mechanism shown in the drawings or at the end of the lower run as the buckets ascend.

It will be understood,of course,that the diagrams herein referred to are merely illustrative and that in practice apparatus embodying my invention will be capable of operation in runs varying greatly in extent and details.

I claim as my inventionl. An elevator-bucket consisting of upper and lower carrying -sections connected at sides and rear, and having a loading and discharge opening in front and adapted to carry the load until turned beyond the point of complete inversion7 substantially as herein set forth,

2. As an improvement in endlesscl1ain conveyers, a conveyer-bucket having upper and lower carryin g-sections, the lower section carrying the material on the lower run and the upper section carrying the material on the upper run of the conveyer, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the chain of an endless-chain conveyer, of buckets rigidly attached thereto and having upper and lower carrying-sections, said buckets adapted to receive and carry a load in the lower section on the lower run, and to retain and carry the load in the upper section when inverted, substantially as set forth.

4. An elevator-bucket consisting of upper and lower carrying -scctions connected at sides and rear, and having a loading and discharge opening in front, the upper Carryingsection being so formed as to retain and carry the load when the bucket is turned in one direction to the point of complete inversion, but to discharge said load when turned beyond said point, substantially as herein set forth.

5. The combination with the chain of an endless-chain conveyer of buckets rigidly attached thereto, said buckets having upper IOO and lower carrying-sections, and adapted to be charged on the lower run of the chain, to retain and carry theirload when inverted on an upper run, and means for turning the buckets into discharging position at any predetermined point upon said upper run, all substantially as herein described.

6. A conveyer-bucket consisting of top and bottom sections, each substantially V-shaped in cross-section, connected at their sides and rear ends and having between them, at their forward ends, an opening for the reception or discharge of a load, all substantially as herein described.

7. A conveyer-bucket having top and bottom carrying-sections, the bottom section having its forward end inclined and extending beyond the line of the forward end of the top section, and adapted to receive the material to be conveyed and direct it into the body of the bucket, substantially as described.

S. A conveyer-bucket consisting of bottom and top carrying-sections connected together at the sides and rear end, and having an inclined forward portion adapted to receive material and direct it into the bucket, all substantially as herein described.

9. A conveyer-bucket consisting of bottom and top carrying-sections connected together at their rear ends, the lower section carrying the material on the lower run and the upper section carrying the material on the upper run, said bucket having an opening at its forward end, and side plates connecting said top and bottom sections, and extending above said opening, all substantially as herein described.

10. A conveyer-bucket having a top carrying-section substantially V-shaped and adapted to carry material when the bucket is inverted, substantially as described.

1l. In an endless-chain conveyer, the combination with a series of pivotally-connected links, of a series of buckets each rigidly secured to one pair of links and having inclined upper sections, the upper section extending rearwardly so as to overlap the pivotal axis between its links and the links immediately in the rear thereof, substantially as set forth.

l2. The combination in conveying and elevating apparatus, of a conveyer-chain, guides adapted to carry and direct the chain in two horizontal runs and in connecting runs, buckets rigidly secured to said chain, each bucket having a bottom section and a top section, the bottom section extending in advance of the top section, the said bottom section carrying the load onthe lower run, and the top section carrying the load on the upper run, when the buckets are reversed, and means for turning the buckets into a discharging position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. DODGE. Witnesses:

WILL. A. BARR, Jos. H. KLEIN. 

